


Photograph

by Luvless34



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, On The Way To A Smile: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luvless34/pseuds/Luvless34
Summary: Set a week after the events of ACC, Cloud and Tifa are working on rebuilding their home, family and their relationship after his absence. Taking some bits and pieces from FFVII Reminiscence, OWTAS Case of Tifa and ACC to create this story. One-shot. Fluff. Cloti.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 6
Kudos: 67





	Photograph

Sunlight poured through the open windows of Seventh Heaven in Edge. There was a slight hum of the ceiling fans as they whirled in circles, dispersing cool air throughout the bar. It was a quiet morning, and Tifa Lockhart, the bar’s manager, was doing the dishes.

Behind the bar she was submerging her arm up to her elbows in sudsy water. The cheap china plates that she had been washing were getting scrubbed of their stains and food particles after feeding the children their breakfast. She poured out the cold coffee from its pot and scrubbed the glass before rinsing it with clean water.

There was something different about this morning. Tifa no longer had to be alone to take care of the bar’s operations or for taking care of the children. Cloud Strife, her childhood friend and partner, had taken residency at Seventh Heaven again after departing for several months.

Tifa thought about the last several years of building this home together with Cloud. They had won against Sephiroth’s attempts to destroy the Planet with Meteor, and with the help of the Lifestream and the Planet, they managed to succeed in saving all the inhabitants on it.

Yet, Sephiroth’s hatred and will contaminated the Lifestream with black sludge like pestilence that came to be known as Geostigma. Adults and children were infected, killing countless lives with the painful disease that scarred them like leprosy, including Denzel, a young boy that Tifa and Cloud had taken in to raise, and even Cloud himself, who had concealed his ailment with a long sleeve covering his arm.

The blonde merc had departed without a word for several months, having been consumed with depression over his perceived inability to save others and to care for his family, including Tifa. His contagion meant certain death, as there was no cure at the time, and the man had resigned to his fate, taking residence at the Sector 5 Church in Midgar...a place where he was haunted by the memories of failure to save Aerith Gainsborough...a flower girl from the slums who was a dear friend to Avalanche.

The bar manager closed her eyes in pain, remembering how much it had hurt Cloud losing Aerith that day in the Forgotten City. He had blamed himself for years, wondering if he could have done anything within the seven seconds it took to snap out of Sephiroth’s control and manipulation of his mind.

Though Cloud was forgiven, he struggled immensely to forgive himself for the things he couldn’t control. He had sworn to keep living his life out for himself as a way to repent. Though they had managed to win in their fight against the remnants: Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, and the manifestation of Sephiroth himself, Cloud had almost been killed, almost torn away from Tifa and the children, yet again.

Tifa broke her thoughts by keeping a mental track of all the chores that were still left to do before it was repeated the next day. Cloud should be back soon with the usual packages and groceries for supper that night. Otherwise, Tifa had planned to feed the children leftovers from the roast they had a few nights ago that sat in the fridge.

She had taken Cloud back into their home, and it wasn’t easy. It had only been a week since he returned, and there was still hesitation between the two of them to continue rebuilding the sense of normalcy they had attempted to create from their past adventures. Now, it was clear that they were back in that cycle and Tifa had no interest in breaking that again.

Suddenly, the landline to Seventh Heaven started ringing, causing Tifa to jump out of surprise. She wiped her hands quickly on the edge of her apron before heading upstairs to answer the phone. Tifa smiled a shy smile at the framed picture that sat on Cloud’s desk, along with a small dried bouquet of wildflowers he had surprised her with a few days ago.

The new picture was a shot of the “family” and extended family members: Yuffie grinned up close, kneeling to the ground, Marlene held Cait Sith while Cid and Barret grinned. Front and center was their family: Tifa standing next to Cloud, with Marlene and Denzel in front of him. Red XIII sat on his hind legs next to them and Vincent even made a brief appearance.

Tifa couldn’t help but feel sad at an empty space she had kept intentionally in the photo. That was where she would’ve stood. The flower girl who saved the world, but lost her young life as a price. Tifa’s friend, comrade and motherly figure to the ragtag group of “heroes” as Gaia’s residents called them.

_“I really wish we had more photographs of the kids,”_ Tifa thought to herself. _“They’re growing up so fast...I want to remember these moments. Maybe I should ask Cloud if he could take some more when he gets back.”_

She gently touched the pink ribbon tied on her arm: A memento of the woman who she wished for more than anything, to be here alive with them.

Tifa shook her head out of her thoughts before picking up the phone and answered.

“Hello? Strife’s Delivery Service.”

“ _Tifa?”_

“Cloud?”

_“Yeah, it’s me. All I’ve got left are the Midgar deliveries.”_

“Oh.”

_“Why did a client come in?”_

“Yeah, a couple,” Tifa said, lowering her voice while looking at the small line of people looking to mail things out.

_“Well, tell them no. I’m taking tomorrow off.”_

Tifa’s heart leapt out of her chest. Ever since Cloud started his delivery business, they had slowly fallen out of spending time together. She had silently wished every day that Cloud would be able to take a day off from making his routes every now and then, but felt it was too selfish of her to request that of him. So, she never said a word.

“Why? Did something happen?” she asked worriedly. Cloud never takes off a day from work, and so him requesting time off was something that often made her think that he had gotten sick. After his long stint with Geostigma, she could never be fully certain. “Did you get hurt?”

_“No reason.”_

Tifa closed her eyes and sighed in relief.

_“Hey, Tifa? Can you close the bar tomorrow?”_

The sudden request caught Tifa off guard, almost to the point where she felt as if she just imagined this conversation to fulfill some inner wishes that she never thought would come true. But, the silence on the other end made her realize that this was a real request: Cloud wanted to spend time with her and the kids.

“I can close up shop for tomorrow.”

_“Wow, that was easy.”_

“OK.”

_“OK. Tell Denzel and Marlene. I’ll see you later.”_

Tifa hung up the phone, afraid that she was deceiving herself into believing that Cloud was really planning to take some time off for their family. She was still hurt from him leaving them and concealing his illness from the children and from her, but Tifa knew that in order for them to move on, they will need to learn to forgive.

She quietly told the children that Cloud would be taking the day off tomorrow, causing Marlene and Denzel to smile brightly. Though behind those smiles, Tifa could tell they were also a little hesitant about him returning for good. She assured them that everything was fine, and promptly told them to go make their beds and to get ready for the day.

Ever since the healing rains that came from within the Lifestream that Aerith had sent to cure the carriers of Geostigma, Cloud had returned home and resettled in his role as the father of their little family. The children were quick to accept him back into the fold, filling him in on all the things he had missed during his time away.

Tifa, on the other hand, struggled with him returning to Seventh Heaven. Cloud had noticed this, and made every effort to show her that he could be trusted and that he didn’t plan to leave again like that.

“I know you forgave him,” Tifa whispered to Aerith, as if the flower girl was still around. “But, can you help me forgive him, too?” It was a tiny prayer she made every day. It wasn’t a long one, nor was it super elaborate, but it was a simple one that contained a lot of hurt that Tifa wished would go away.

But Geostigma left a scar. Though not visible to many, Tifa felt it left a permanent mark between herself and Cloud. Ever since he pulled himself out of that pool of water that cured the children and him of the disease, Tifa felt herself being apprehensive of getting close to him again.

She had trusted him completely, and that trust was still being rebuilt. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him forever after the last several stunts that caused her heart to fall into shambles. Tifa had continued to move forward with her life, trying to prove that she didn’t just take from life, but that she could give back.

That’s why she adopted Denzel into their little family after Cloud recovered him from the Sector 5 Church. Aerith had led the boy to the two of them and they accepted him into the fold as an adopted son between them and a brother for Marlene, who had lived as the only child for several years now.

It didn’t seem too odd to strangers or patrons who saw the family together. They viewed Cloud and Tifa as a young mother and father with their two children. There wasn’t anything too strange about it. Though, Tifa did care a little about their definition of family.

She had fought for so long her feelings of inadequacy when it came to their hodge-podge family unit, and fought so hard to keep it together during Cloud’s absence. Tifa had given up the idea of a formal commitment from Cloud and never sought to define their relationship during the last few years.

It hurt her deep inside, thinking about the night shared underneath the Highwind on the eve of the Final Battle against Sephiroth at the Northern Crater. Tifa’s mind often drifted back to that memory, whether Cloud truly meant what he said about sharing the depths of his feelings with her.

They had been together for so long through the ups and downs, but after Cloud left to reside at the church seemingly having given up on living all together, she felt she had lost her own will to keep going herself. The guilt she carried for the lost innocent lives in Midgar during her days in Avalanche almost suffocated her.

Unexpected tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she wiped them away. She scolded herself for feeling those emotions and tried to hold it together. Tifa knew that deep inside, she also needed to forgive herself for what happened within the last few years and that if she wanted to redeem herself, she would need to take each day one step at a time.

* * *

It was night by the time the familiar sound of Cloud’s Fenrir rumbled past the back alley door to Seventh Heaven. Denzel had propped his elbows up on the window seat, peering out onto the main road, waiting for his hero to come home each night.

He was not disappointed. Soon, the echoes of Cloud’s boots walking on the wooden floors of the bar greeted the young boy as he ran over to greet the young man with blonde spikes that stuck out even more than usual because of the wind that would rush through the strands.

“Hi Cloud,” Denzel said with a smile.

“Denzel,” Cloud responded with a small one of his own. He ruffled Denzel’s hair and proceeded toward the back of the bar while removing his gloves before washing them in the small sink. “Where’s Tifa?”

“She’s upstairs with Marlene,” Denzel answered. He hesitated for a second before looking toward that direction. “Tifa seemed a little upset.”

“With who? Marlene?”

“No, she looked kind of sad,” Denzel said, shrugging his shoulders. “She’s been like that a lot lately.”

Cloud frowned and looked away. He had a suspicion that Tifa was withholding a lot of feelings from the children for their sake, but he knew that he had been the source of those worries for a while now. He couldn’t blame Tifa for the way she felt, especially with how he had left their family for months at a time.   
  


Now that he was back, he needed to give her some assurance that he made no plans to leave them again. He wasn’t foolish to think that Tifa would just go back to acting as if he hadn’t left them immediately. Cloud knew...it was going to take quite some time before she could completely trust him.

“Hey, Denzel, did Tifa tell you about tomorrow?”

“Yeah, we’re really surprised you could take the day off,” Denzel said, grinning. “Marlene’s super happy too. I know Tifa was surprised, but I think she’s excited.”

That gave Cloud enough assurance that Tifa didn’t completely resent him, and so, he cracked a small smile again.

“You boys OK down here?” A voice called out to them both.

Marlene had rushed down the stairs to give Cloud a hug while Tifa followed slowly after her. She gave Cloud a shy smile and nod as if to welcome him back while Denzel and Marlene scooted out of the way to head back upstairs to get ready for bed, leaving the two adults downstairs alone.

There was an awkward silence between Cloud and Tifa as she scooted around the bar. Cloud took a seat and watched her as she quietly assembled the fixings of the Cosmo Canyon, the house specialty drink for him and herself. He couldn’t help but admire Tifa’s skills in bartending as she quickly measured out the liquor and shook them in a steel shaker.

She deftly poured the ruby-red liquid into two glasses over ice and slid one of those glasses over to Cloud on the smooth bar top. Cloud stopped it and picked it up with one of his hands. He slowly drank the contents, feeling a warmth radiating through his body like the Cosmo Candle that burned brightly in the middle of the canyon during their adventures so long ago.

“Are you hungry?” Tifa asked him. “I have a plate in the oven that’s warmed up for you.”

“I could eat.”

She smiled and headed into the back, and a few minutes later, reappeared with a made plate with a small slice of roast with some mashed turnips with gravy. Cloud accepted the plate gratefully and ate Tifa’s cooking. That was one thing he did miss from their time apart...her food.

After finishing supper, Tifa quietly cleared his plate and placed them into the sink to wash. Cloud watched Tifa pick up her Cosmo Canyon and walk to the other side of the bar top, joining him.

She seemed consumed in her thoughts, which reminded Cloud of a similar interaction they had two years ago before their second bombing mission during their Avalanche days. Tifa then exhibited hesitation in their methods of seeking revenge against Shinra, and she still carried that guilt in her heart, which had closed off from Cloud during his time away.

They sat next to each other like this for about several minutes, the only sounds coming from the melting ice cubes within their glasses and the sounds of them silently sipping the liquid. Cloud cringed. He remembered one moment where he had been so consumed in his grief and depression that he essentially told Tifa he didn’t want her around him. She had lost her composure and ordered him to go drink in their room instead of letting her join him.

The silence between them was worse than those arguments.

“Tifa,” Cloud said quietly. He turned his face to stare at the dark-haired beauty sitting beside him.

She didn’t respond right away, but Cloud knew that she was struggling with his presence and the idea that he was not planning to run away again. He had hoped for way less than what Tifa had given him: A home.

“I’m still getting used to the fact that you’re here, right now,” Tifa said finally after several painful minutes of silence. “That you’re not going to leave again. But...sometimes, I’m still scared that something else will happen that can never unhappen, and it terrifies me.”

Tifa’s dark eyes glistened with tears as she wiped them away quickly with her hand. She seemed to refrain from mentioning her true feelings, but Cloud could see how much pain and fear he had inflicted onto Tifa during the last few months, and that killed him more than the Geostigma.

“I’m sorry,” Cloud said lamely, keeping his eyes locked on Tifa’s bowed head. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t the person you needed me to be. I was a coward.”

Tifa didn’t immediately interrupt him, nor did she stop him from speaking. Cloud took that as a sign that she was listening to him, but he knew that she was reluctant about the future between the two of them despite everything they had experienced together.

Cloud felt his heart ache, and knew what she meant. They had confessed to each other without words the depths of their feelings, and they were both in such a vulnerable state. That night was the most intimate Cloud had been with any person in his life, bearing his soul to the object of his affections that fostered and grew from his childhood into a young love.

He didn’t withhold anything from Tifa that night, believing that that would be the last moment they would have together and they had clung to each other as if fate itself would try to drive them apart again. In those early morning hours out on the wastelands outside of Midgar, he and Tifa were blanketed by the night sky...the stars always belonging to the two of them.

So...what made it harder to share their feelings now?

“Tifa…”

“Yes, Cloud?”

“You were right, you know.”

She seemed puzzled by this, and gave a slight frown.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m afraid of something happening that can never unhappen,” Cloud said, tapping the rim of his glass with his fingers. He swirled the ruby liquid around slowly, like a gentle whirlpool. “I guess, I’m more afraid of being happy. I’m scared that all of this...will be taken away from me.”

Tifa’s eyes softened at this and she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Cloud looked into her eyes and found the woman who had stood by him through all of his highs and lows, the only person he bore his soul and had seen the weaknesses through his mask. She never ran away from him, and for that, he felt even more ashamed that he abandoned her when she needed him.

“I’m scared of losing everything again,” Tifa muttered. “Our home...the kids...you. I think we’ve experienced enough losses and need to see the small wins too.”

Cloud and Tifa looked at the home they had built with Barret’s help over two years ago, when the three of them had wandered Gaia looking for a way to make up for their sins. Tifa’s atonement came in the form of building Seventh Heaven in Edge, living there with Cloud.

Yet, this form of repentance also came with joys too. Cloud and Tifa found each other after all those years of being apart, fought side by side, recovered their memories and ended up choosing to stay together through all of it. The last survivors of their hometown, and fate smiled on that.

The two continued to finish their drinks before Tifa got up and poured some more liquor into their glasses. They continued to talk into the early hours of the morning, crying over their losses and grieving properly for once the people who would never get a chance to see themselves grow old.

Cloud poured a drink for Zack and Aerith, while Tifa raised a glass for Nibelheim and the villagers who were senselessly cut down by Sephiroth’s sword. They drank and drank, soon inebriated by the liquor that warmed up their insides like fire.

They headed for bed. Cloud hesitated at first, remembering that before he had left that he and Tifa shared a room together while across the hallway, the children slept in their own beds. Marlene had taken it upon herself to keep Tifa company during his absence, and he silently cursed himself for leaving that responsibility on the little girl’s shoulders.

He and Tifa stared a little at the bed, blushing at the sight. Tifa then silently walked to her side, changed into a t-shirt and shorts and sat down.

“If you want me to…” Cloud motioned to Tifa who had already pulled the covers around her before settling in for the night. “I can--.”

“It’s your decision, Cloud,” Tifa said. “If we’re going to try to move forward...then baby steps.”

Cloud nodded and slowly pulled off his shirt and his boots before climbing into bed with Tifa. There was no cuddling, nor were there silly conversations between the two of them that had been present before the days of his departure and the sting of Geostigma that struck the family.

It was possibly the loneliest night Cloud had felt in a long time. More than the isolation he put himself through when he had given up on trying to fight his Geostigma, this feeling of separation from Tifa meant that the time apart had driven a wedge between them.

He desperately wanted to hold Tifa close to his chest, to feel his heartbeat and to know that he always had a place for her inside his being. But, he didn’t feel deserving...he knew how Tifa was...being in her nature to forgive and to move onward with her life...but he wasn’t sure.

“Good night,” Tifa whispered.

“Good night,” Cloud muttered.

* * *

The next morning was the family outing that Cloud had called together. Denzel and Marlene were excited about the day, while Tifa appeared no less different than she had been the night before. Her smile was on for the children, but her eyes carried that depth of sadness that Denzel had mentioned to Cloud.

It was not the Tifa he knew, and he remembered promising Tifa that he would remind her of the person she was. Strong and cheerful.

Cloud decided that the family should go for a small picnic out in the countryside outside of Midgar, which prompted the children to rush upstairs to gather some toys and things to pack into Tifa’s knapsack. She had spent the morning making sandwiches and packing some fruit along with a canteen of juice that Marlene and Denzel had enjoyed from off the bar’s menu.

She was efficient in gathering everything needed for the outing, with Cloud packing his camera. They had rented out a small truck to drive out into the outskirts from a patron of the bar, who was grateful for Cloud’s services and helped them with this small detail of transporting the family with ease.

Marlene and Denzel seemed to be aware of the slight tension between Cloud and Tifa, and made every effort to keep conversations light and friendly amongst the group. The two adults smiled whenever the children pointed out strange shapes in the rock formations, or when Marlene squealed at the sight of wild chocobos galloping across the landscape.

Tifa kept quiet for most of the ride, her eyes closed. She appeared to be breathing in the smell of the fresh air of the prairies and meadows through the passenger-side window, while Cloud silently drove the truck. He preferred to drive Fenrir, but he knew that to bring the family along, meant having to drive something more spacious.

They found a spot amid the wildflowers that bloomed in patches, and from the distance, the family could see the Edge and settled down for their picnic. Tifa set out the picnic blanket, while Marlene and Denzel pulled out the serving ware and plates for the sandwiches and chips that were packed tightly and carefully inside the basket.

“This looks really good, Tifa!” Marlene said cheerily, with Denzel nodding in agreement.

“Thanks, Marlene,” Tifa giggled. She pulled out a container of potato salad and handed it to Cloud, who silently served small portions onto plates before placing some onto his own.

“Yeah, it looks really good,” Cloud said, taking a bite with his fork. Tifa smiled at this and thanked him.

For a moment, everyone looked cheerful and they were pleasant toward each other. The children ate multiple sandwiches, and drank as much juice as they could hold in their bellies.

Cloud and Tifa were quietly talking to each other as they watched Marlene and Denzel play in the wildflowers. The sun was beaming down on them, but a cool breeze kept them from warming up too much for them to be uncomfortable. It seemed hard to believe that Geostigma finally had a cure, and here against all odds, Cloud and Denzel were still here.

Marlene made a flower crown and placed it on top of Tifa’s head, who laughed at the gesture. The little girl had also made one for Cloud, who despite having a colder exterior, allowed Marlene to place it on top of his spikes. The crown’s placement was lopsided, but Cloud kept in good spirits, acting goofy for Marlene and teased Denzel who made fun of the girly tiara.

Every once in a while, Cloud would snap a picture of candid moments that prompted good-hearted teasing and laughter from the rest of the family. He did take a moment to set up the tripod and gathered everyone close together for a photograph, a stark contrast from an old photo of Cloud being emotionally and physically distant from the rest of the family.

When Cloud showed Tifa, frame by frame, the memories he had captured, the smile on her face grew like a blossoming flower in the spring. Reborn and warm.

 _“Maybe, this was all we needed,”_ Cloud thought to himself. _“Just some time for us and the kids.”_

Marlene sneezed when a tuft of chocobo down landed on her nose, prompting laughter from Tifa who hugged her close and held onto her adopted daughter tightly.

Cloud couldn’t help but note how similar Marlene looked to Tifa, despite Tifa not being Marlene’s birth mother. He saw how tall the little girl had grown over the years and felt a twinge of sadness at the thought of missing out on those little moments that Tifa had probably witnessed on her own like Marlene losing her first baby tooth or outgrowing her pair of shoes.

Denzel, on the other hand, had grown even taller and his light brown hair had grown out even shaggier. His blue eyes were focused on Tifa and Marlene and his toothy, boyish grin appeared on his face. To think that the boy was found collapsed outside of Aerith’s church…

The merc closed his eyes. He felt a different kind of emotion now that Aerith had saved him and the children yet again. Her spirit had created a healing rain, removing the Geostigma from his body and she aided him in his final battle with Sephiroth from the Lifestream. The Cetra always had a way of showing up whenever he needed that extra push to fight.

* * *

_It was a close call, and Cloud was certain that he would not be making a return trip to the physical world. Yazoo and Loz had attempted to strike him down and take him with them to the Lifestream as they slowly dissipated into nothing._

_The explosion from their last encounter had been enough to kill anyone, Cloud included._

_He remembered a floating sensation into a white void, and a gentle hand being placed on his forehead like his own mother would do when he was sick._

_“Mother?” Cloud called out in a murmur, his eyes kept closed._

_“Again?” A familiar voice said, annoyed. “Why is everyone calling me their mother lately?”_

_There was a slight chuckle, this time, coming from a young man._

_“I guess they must be fond of you,” The man said with a slight cocky voice. The woman’s voice giggled._

_“This one’s a little too big to adopt,” she said._

_“Sorry friend, sounds like, you don’t have a place here,” the man said._

_That was when Cloud had woken up floating in a small pool beneath the floorboards of Aerith’s church in the slums, the last place he had made his home away from Tifa and the children. He noticed a large gathering of people standing above him, and some children submerged in the water alongside him._

_He stood up, towering over their short bodies and took in the sight around him. Cloud didn’t feel pain or aches from where he had been shot, and felt completely healthy. From the pure sunlight filtering through the demolished church roof, Cloud could see Avalanche standing in front of him._

_Right in front, was Tifa staring at him with anticipation. It was just like Tifa to be waiting for him to come back to her._

_Cloud looked down and saw the Mog girl who had been carrying her late brother’s stuffed toy around with her standing in the depths of the pool by his side._

_“It’s just as she said, ‘Wait here and Cloud will come back,’” The girl said with a smile. Cloud nodded and turned to Avalanche._

_“I’m back,” he said definitively._

_Red XIII prowled to the front and turned his head toward Cloud._

_“There are still children with the stigma,” he said, to which the merc nodded._

_Tifa had brought forward Denzel, the young boy who had been in their care for several weeks, and shyly looked at Cloud who was standing waist-deep in the pool._

_“Hey,” Tifa said, kneeling down and with a gentle smile placed her hands on Denzel’s shoulders to guide him toward his hero. “Let’s get you fixed up.”_

_“C’mon, I’m here,” Cloud said earnestly, extending a gloved hand to the young boy. Denzel hesitated at first, but Tifa gently guided him to the man, encouraging him to trust him._

_“It’s OK,” she said._

_Cloud placed his hands underneath Denzel’s armpits and lifted him up before setting him down into the pool. He cupped his hands together to create a small bowl of healing water. He looked at his reflection from the gleaming surface of the liquid, before baptizing Denzel over his Geostigma on his forehead._

_Denzel had been surprised by the cold liquid falling down his face, and cautiously examined his face as a soft green glow resonated from contact with the stigma. The boy looked into his reflection and then back up at Cloud. He nodded in response, causing Denzel to laugh with pure joy._

_Children jumped into the water, splashing each other and laughing with the prospect that they were no longer cursed to a slow, painful death. They were free. Cloud smiled at the children dancing in the waves of the pool, and he then cast a shy smile at Tifa who crossed her arms and returned it with a genuine smile of her own._

_“You see? You deserve to feel this way,” she seemed to express with her soft doe-like eyes._

_“Yeah...I do,” Cloud tried to convey with his own._

_The man looked about the scene, and then his mako-blue eyes caught something out of the ordinary. In the back in the middle of the aisle formed by the broken church pews, as a young woman in pink was kneeling down to talk with two children._

_She stood up and walked toward the church entrance doors, her slender figure framed by a heavenly light. Cloud continued to watch her as she made her way for the exit. There was also a young man leaning up against the door frame, waiting for her._

_The woman turned, revealing the face of Aerith Gainsborough, the flower girl fated to meet Cloud and change his life forever. A trusted comrade and friend to Avalanche, and the destined Cetra who was taken too soon from all of them, and was remembered through the pink ribbons tied around their arms._

_Her emerald green eyes softened at Cloud, and she smiled at him. Cloud’s best friend Zack was the one standing in the doorway of the Sector 5 Church. He looked just as he did when he died: Young, bold, charming and handsome. Aerith’s first love who was never able to return to her after being executed by Shinra forces, helping Cloud escape from the research lab in Nibelheim._

_In a strange twist of fate, their paths had all intersected, culminating into the shared destiny of saving the Planet from Sephiroth. Though, these two had paid the ultimate price for it. Cloud, the living legacy of that sacrifice. A payment that he knew would never need to be paid back aside from living his life fully for the three of them._

_“You see? Everything’s alright,” Aerith said sweetly, before turning away. She continued walking into the light, with Zack casting a slight wave to Cloud before following the flower girl to return to the Planet in peace. Cloud then smiled at this, acknowledging that he no longer was bound by his sins. He had been forgiven._

_“I know. I’m not alone. Not anymore.”_

* * *

Cloud’s thoughts were brought back to the present, where his little family were still teasing and joking with each other. He shared a glance with Tifa who had been watching him, and they both smiled shyly. Here they were, enjoying the sweet memories that were being created.

The past wouldn’t be erased, that much was for certain. But, Cloud and Tifa had acknowledged that their past shaped who they were today, and that what mattered was how they chose to continue living out the rest of their lives while their time was still on Gaia.

“Cloud? You’re smiling,” Tifa said gently.

“I’ve been doing that more, lately,” Cloud responded softly. He then smiled even more. “You’ve always been here, haven’t you, Tifa?”

“You should know the answer to that, Cloud.”

“I know...but it’s time to put that into practice.”

The children excused themselves and ran off to go play in the fields, with Tifa warning them not to wander too far from the road. Monsters were still a concern, but Cloud and Tifa were prepared to fight whenever necessary. The adults were left alone again, and this time, it was a different feeling that felt foreign to the both of them: Peace.

They took a walk, and several moments later came to a stop at a site that Cloud was familiar with. It was marked with growing yellow flowers, dancing gently in the breeze on a cliff overlooking the expanse of a far-distant Midgar. Here was where Zack took his final stand, and they all were here because of him.

This spot no longer brought grief or sadness to Cloud, and he instead, felt peace having received forgiveness from his dearly departed friends who had given their silent assurance that they’d be waiting for him in the Promised Land when the time was right, and that he needed to stay where he belonged. Here, with the woman he loved and the children who adored him as a part of their little family.

_“I am your living legacy,”_ Cloud thought. _“I’ll try to live up to that, Zack...thank you.”_

Cloud shyly held Tifa’s hand and she held onto his. They both looked out into the horizon, taking in the sight of the Planet in front of them. It seemed almost wrong to be this still, but for once, they accepted the calmness of their surroundings and took in the now. This was their moment that nothing or no one could take away from them.

“Do you forgive me, Tifa?” Cloud asked softly.

“You know the answer to that,” Tifa replied with a smile.

Then, Cloud felt himself muster the courage to ask another question that he already knew the answer to, but wanted to ask Tifa anyway.

“Do you love me, Tifa?”

“Again...you know the answer to that.”

“I know...but I wanted to be sure of you. Will you stay here, with me?”

“My answer hasn’t changed,” his childhood friend said, smiling. She looked into Cloud’s eyes and with a nod, wiped a tear that was forming from her eyes. “It will never change.”

“Then...do you know how I feel?”

Tifa continued to look into Cloud’s eyes and in almost a near whisper, said “You know my answer...and it hasn’t changed. Not once...it never did. It never will.”

It took everything for the two of them not to say everything all at once, but in that moment it didn’t matter what was happening around them. The only thing that existed was the two of them and this precise moment of time.

Cloud leaned in toward Tifa’s face and kissed her fully on the mouth, gently pressing his lips against her blossoming pink ones, parting them, conveying his heart without words.

He embraced her fully in the enveloping kiss, a breeze carrying flower petals snowed over them from across the field, carrying the sounds of laughing children across the open prairies. After what seemed like an eternal promise, sealed with their kiss to devote their lives to each other, they pulled apart.

Cloud hugged Tifa, drawing her close to him. She never gave up on him, and he finally felt redeemed in her eyes, the boy hero who went off to impress her from their mountain village, the one who fought side by side with her when the world almost ended. Now, she still vowed to stay with him...through all time.

Suddenly, Denzel and Marlene reappeared by their sides, taking in the sight of the world with Cloud and Tifa. Their family unit pushing ahead, scars and all.

“Is this somebody’s grave?” Denzel asked softly, noting the yellow flowers on the spot where they stood.

Cloud shook his head, smiling at Denzel, then at Marlene and then shared a lasting look with Tifa, eternity shone in her eyes. The merc finally realized that the fear and guilt no longer took hold of him.

He was finally free.

  
“No... This is where a hero began his journey.”


End file.
